DEADWING

Deadwing is a well crafted collection of rather dark heavy rock songs, some of which approach prog metal but as a whole remains very accessible. I think that is one of Wilson's main gifts really, creating music which appeals to prog and prog metal fans while being very appealing to mainstream music listeners as well. Porcupine Tree peaked for me between Stupid Dream/Lightbulb Sun/In Absentia. Deadwing was a step down but remains an album worth hearing. The problem here is a slow start, the first four tracks being pretty weak by Wilson standards. By the time you hit full stride in "Arriving Somewhere" the party is half over. "Arriving Somewhere" is one of the best "epic" PT songs. Absolutely packed with feeling and sentimental playing this song takes me airborn as well as any of the classics. The rest of the album does not hit the heights of its predecessors. There are some nice spacy tracks and some good crunch with the metal element, but the better representation of the next phase PT would come on FoaBP. Deadwing at its best remains an intriguing transition that many fans adore, but is only average in the strong catalog of this artist.

The CD booklet needs a little help as it looks more like a middle school art project or something from Adbusters magazine. But that's a minor complaint and the cover art is actually pretty cool. Recommended to anyone who likes modern rock music, space rock, or prog metal.

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